Chris Margerison | Guest Lecture

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to attend a guest lecture held by freelance creative Chris Margerison who specialises in Graphic Design, Illustration & Character Design.

The purpose of the lecture was so that Chris could help us understand the transition from student to professional by explaining his personal experiences. Interestingly Chris began his higher education studying Graphic Design at my hometown in Blackpool at the Fylde College, before realising that it wasn’t right for him. This resulted in moving to Huddersfield- where he met tutor Johnny Lindley, who arranged this guest lecture.

Chris explained that at University, it is the time to experiment and find your voice, which I completely agree with. I like to be very experimental with projects so that I can try new things and push my limits. In doing this I know much more about the type of designer I am: what I am interested in, and how I perceive other design. Chris even showed us some of his first and second year work to show the level in which he started. I thought this was rather bold and I admire him for doing that. I hate the thought of showing work that I am embarrassed to say is mine.

We then moved on to talking about placement year and it’s importance. Chris basically implied how significant it is getting a placement as it will give you a great opportunity to gain experience and make connections. He went on to saying how difficult it was for him to get one, and that you must be persistent. This I am very familiar with as I have been applying for placement for ongoing for a few months now. Chris managed to get himself a placement working at a company in Manchester, however he found himself very unenthusiastic in the role and lost his passion for design.

For Chris’ final year, he was fortunate enough to be chosen for the D&AD exhibition in which he first met his now current employer. During his third year and after graduation, Chris began to freelance in creating designs for t-shirts, and working with clients for character creation illustrations. Unfortunately, he was not paid for any of his freelance and it opened his eyes as to how harsh the industry can be. In his spare time, he created a music video with his brother called “Roots”. This was a collaboration of Chris’ design skills and his brother’s skills in animation.

From networking at D&AD, Chris now works for Playstation, which he loves. It started as a 4 week placement but quickly developed into a full time job. Interestingly Chris admitted that it was his attitude and enthusiasm that got him the role and not the quality of his work. Since working at Playstation, Chris has designed for games such as: Killzone, Singstar and The Order 1886, which I found very impressive. Whilst working at Playstation, Chris liked to keep busy doodling out new designs and is currently working on another music video animation with his brother.

I found this lecture very insightful and enjoyable. It proved that hard work does eventually pay off and the importance of attending events- meeting people and networking. At this stage I can only keep on going and applying for placements in hope that I will eventually get somewhere. After the lecture Johnny and Chris came over in the studio and I had a chat with them. Chris seemed very interested in my current project working for The Level Collective, and wanted to see some of my other work which I was happy to show.

To see some awesome Character Creation and Graphic Design, check Chris out @